A/N: Hey everyone!

Alright, here's a new update. I know I said I'd be faster than before, I probably wasn't. Sorry! Classes have started back up again, but I'm constantly working on this story to give you new updates. I'm a bit of a perfectionist, that's all.

I do not own any HP or Wicked characters.

Enjoy!

September passes fast, and before I know it October is nearly gone as well. Adjusting to the routine of teaching has been much simpler than I anticipated, and without any major accidents. I've spent considerable time exploring the castle, even playing late night games of chess with Albus. Since school began, he made a habit of coming to my rooms once a week to talk about recent events, and he eventually brought a chess board with him to give us something to do.

I open the door to my room only to run directly into Albus.

"Oh, I'm sorry, my dear."

"Albus? What are you doing here?"

"I came to escort you to dinner, of course."

I raise my eyebrow, "That's very nice, but you know you don't have to walk me to dinner every night, right? I appreciated you doing it when I first got here, but I know my way around now."

"If you'd prefer to walk alone…"

I shake my head, "No, not at all. I just don't want you to feel obligated."

"Never, my dear." He extends his arm. "Shall we?"

We walk in a comfortable silence, but I gasp at what I see when we finally enter the Great Hall. "Albus! What is all this?"

There are dozens of pumpkins with odd little faces carved into them, lit up and levitating in the air several feet above the tables. There's a strange orange tint in the Hall from all the lights.

"Why, they're decorations for Halloween!" Albus says with a smile.

"Halloween? What is that?"

Albus stares at me. "You don't know what Halloween is? Have you forgotten?"

"No? I've never heard of anything with that name."

"It's a holiday, Minerva. You know, candy, trick or treating, ghost stories, costumes, jack-o'-lanterns?"

I stare at him. "Jack-o'-lanterns?"

He points above the Hall, "The pumpkins. You honestly never celebrated Halloween when you were a child?"

I start to shake my head, but then I remember that he thinks I'm from Germany. Surely people in Germany must know what Halloween is.

"Well, no… My family wasn't much for celebrations." I recover quickly. "But this certainly is interesting."

I can feel Albus looking at me as I look around the Hall, but I don't acknowledge him.

Are you planning on wearing anything special to the feast?"

"Feast?"

"Yes, the Halloween Feast, on the thirty-first of course."

I laugh, "Albus Dumbledore, are you trying to get me into some ridiculous costume? Because if so, you're wasting your time."

He gets that infuriating twinkle in his eye again, "I'm serious, Albus. Don't even think about it!"

He raises his hands in defeat, "Alright, alright. No ridiculous costumes. But you wouldn't object to something small, would you? Something you could wear any day, not just on Halloween?"

"Well, I suppose not…" I trail off when I see the look on his face. He seems very pleased, and the look he's giving me makes me think I should have thought more about this before I gave him an answer.

"Well done, everyone. Class dismissed!"

Students begin to pack up their things and file out of the classroom. I immediately relax, sighing. The Gryffindor-Slytherin classes are always the most difficult ones. The older the students are, the more ridiculous their rivalries seem to be. The fifth years certainly aren't as tiresome as the seventh years, but I definitely feel a headache coming on.

I walk toward the door at the side of the room to put away the supplies from today's class. I have to remember to ask Poppy if she has anything to relieve headaches. I have a feeling I'm going to need them.

"Serpensortia!" I hear a whispered voice coming from the classroom. I look up, confused. I thought all the students left?

Silently, I walk back through the door and look around. I see a student sitting at one of the desks in the front of the classroom with his back to me. He seems to be watching something… Did he just conjure a snake?

I take a few more tentative steps before I realize that the boy is Tom Riddle. What is he still doing here? Students aren't supposed to be in classrooms unsupervised. I watch him observing the snake for a moment longer, but just when I'm about to speak, Riddle begins making strange hissing sounds. The snake, I notice, seems to be paying rapt attention to Riddle, almost as if it can understand him.

Riddle can talk to snakes? Though I can't understand what he's saying, his tone turns darker, almost frightening, dangerous. I pull out my wand on reflex, pointing it at the snake.

"Vipera Evanesca!" The snake immediately vanishes into a puff of black smoke, and Riddle jumps out of his chair, facing me.

"Professor!"

"Mr. Riddle." I say in my most serious tone, at this point very concerned and more than a bit angry. "I am sure you are aware that students are not allowed in classrooms without a teacher's knowledge."

He looked surprised at first upon seeing me, but now his expression is oddly blank, almost smug. "Of course, I apologize. It just took me longer to pack up my things."

I raise my eyebrow sharply at the boldness of the lie. "What were you doing with that snake, Mr. Riddle? The Serpensortia Spell isn't taught until sixth year, and for good reason."

Riddle gives me a small smile. "I came across it one day in the library, it seemed interesting."

"Yes, well, interesting or not Mr. Riddle, I trust I will not catch you summoning anymore snakes in my classroom, nor anywhere else in this castle until your sixth year."

His mouth twitches, but his smile remains intact. "Whatever you say, Professor McGonagall."

I give him a stiff nod. "You are dismissed."

He turns, grabbing his pack before sauntering past me. Surprised, I begin to walk back toward my desk before looking back at him.

"Mr. Riddle?" He turns. "I'd be more careful about who catches you talking to animals. Something tells me you could get yourself into quite a bit of trouble." I quip shortly.

The small smile on his face is instantly wiped away and is replaced with a much less charming look. I give him a smile of my own before turning away from him in favor of my desk. I look over my shoulder just in time to see him storming out the door.

I sit at my desk for a moment or two, mulling things over. I know I have essays to grade in front of me, but there's something about Tom Riddle that sets my teeth on edge. Something tells me that there aren't many students at Hogwarts that have the ability to talk to snakes, if that was in fact what he was doing. This cannot be a good sign.

"Smug little git." I say under my breath to the now empty classroom. That is definitely one student I'll be keeping an eye on this year.

The next day, Albus comes to my quarters with a chess set like he always does at the end of the week. I make us both a cup of tea before we start playing, but we only get a few moves in before Albus looks up at me.

"Minerva? Minerva."

I've been staring blankly at the pieces, but I look up at him.

"Yes?"

"What are you thinking about? It certainly isn't chess."

I sigh, "I'm sorry, Albus."

He smiles at me. "It's no trouble, my dear. Do you want to talk about it?"

I stand from my chair and turn my back on him in favor of the fireplace. "I've been trying to think of the best way to bring this up."

"What?"

"Something strange happened with one of my students yesterday, and I'm not quite sure what to make of it." I glance at him.

Albus looks at me, seemingly a bit surprised. "Really? Which student?"

"A fifth year, Tom Riddle."

Albus's expression instantly changes into one of suspicion, and the twinkle constantly in his eye dims a bit.

"What did he do? Did he hurt you in any way?"

I look back at him, openly shocked. "Of course not! No, nothing like that." I say quickly, though it makes me wonder just what Albus thinks the boy is capable of. Maybe I was right to be suspicious of him, after all.

"I heard him in my classroom after I'd dismissed the class. I thought everyone was already gone. He'd done the Serpensortia spell, which of course he shouldn't even know yet. Before I could do anything about it, he started making these odd hissing sounds. Albus, I swear it looked like he was… talking to the snake, and it was obvious it was listening to him."

Albus doesn't say anything yet, but he moves to sit on the couch, nodding for me to continue.

"His voice… was off, somehow. It sounded dangerous suddenly, and I banished the snake. He didn't seem frightened at all that he'd been caught. He actually seemed smug. I've never seen anything like it. Is this, the speaking to snakes thing…"

Albus shakes his head, anticipating the question. "No, Minerva it isn't common, but it happens. It's called Parseltongue, snake language. The only person known to be a Parselmouth was Salazar Slytherin, one of the founders of the school. Tom is the only other person I've seen with the ability."

"Parselmouth…" I whisper, mostly to myself. That's something I'll have to do some research on, then.

"Albus, I'm sorry, but something about him seemed wrong. I hate to suspect a student, but…"

"So you haven't fallen for his charms like all the other professors, then?"

I scoff, "Of course not. People much better than him have tried." I say, though I am surprised by his response. I guess none of the other professors see what I do.

"Be careful around Tom, Minerva. I understand your suspicions; I have them too. Tom has always been a troubled child. Please, just be careful."

I nod, exceedingly concerned about what Albus thinks Riddle could be up to.

"Minerva?" Albus calls, and I look back up at him.

"Are you sure nothing else happened? You look concerned."

"Yes, I'm sure. I'm just surprised."

"By what?"

"Riddle's attitude. He was so flippant, completely unconcerned with the fact that he was caught by a professor. Perhaps it's simply because I'm new, but I've never seen anything like it in a student."

Albus shakes his head. "No, my dear, it's not you. I'm sure the fact that he doesn't know you has something to do with it, but he's like that with nearly every professor. They simply like him so much they don't seem to notice."

"I'm sure he's not like that with you, Albus."

He sighs, "No, Tom knows better than to try to charm me like everyone else. And my guess is he knows better with you now, too."

I nod in agreement. If Tom Riddle thinks he's going to fool me, he obviously isn't as smart as he thinks he is.

Albus suddenly smiles, sitting down on the couch. "Come, Minerva, I have something for you."

I stare at him, confused. "What? Why?"

"Let's call it a Halloween gift."

"People exchange presents on Halloween?"

"Not usually, no. But you need something to join in the festivities!"

Suddenly a rather large box materializes on the table in front of the couch.

"Albus! What in the name of…" I'm more than a bit surprised by the size of the gift.

"Don't worry, it's nothing elaborate, I just couldn't risk it getting damaged."

I raise an eyebrow at him, but open the box without further delay, only to gasp when I remove the lid.

Inside the box is a witch's hat. It's black, with a wide brim and a point that is crooked at the top. Shock renders me almost unable to move, and I can't tear my eyes away from it. If I didn't know any better, I would swear that this is the hat that was left in Oz.

The one Glinda gave me as a joke for the dance so long ago.

"Where did you find this?" I whisper.

"At a shop in Diagon Alley. I promised no costumes, but this is something you're able to wear any time you wish, not just on Halloween." He says quickly, still smiling, completely unaware.

When Albus leaves a little while later, I find myself staring at the hat once again. When Albus explained he got the hat from Diagon Alley, I was suddenly able to breathe again. I realized, of course, that it's impossible for this hat to be the same one from back then, but it looks exactly like it. The hat that people recognized before they even saw me coming.

I sigh. It's almost funny to me, how quickly Oz comes back into my thoughts. Sometimes, if I'm lucky, I forget I was ever Elphaba Thropp to begin with; That I was ever the Wicked Witch of the West. Never for very long, but it happens every once in a while.

I reach out and pick up the hat before going to the mirror. After only a moment's hesitation, I put the hat on my head.

For a split second, I see the girl with green skin and brown eyes looking back at me before I realize I'm no longer that girl. I blink, and the green skin is gone, back to the pale tone it was when I awoke in the infirmary, and my eyes are once again the strange green that I still have no bloody explanation for.

The hat may remind me of my past, but Albus gave me this, not Glinda. It doesn't have to symbolize Elphaba Thropp, Wicked Witch. This time, the hat belongs to Minerva McGonagall, Transfiguration Mistress at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

I smile at the thought.

The next day at breakfast, I arrive to the Great Hall in the hat that Albus had given me the night before. Seeing me, Albus smiles like an idiot.

"Ah, Minerva! I see you took my advice about the hat."

"You mean not just wearing it on Halloween? Yes, I did indeed." I say, sitting down next to him.

"It suits you. I like that you added the feather. It was missing something before, I just couldn't figure out what it was. You seem to have done it."

"I'm glad you approve." I say, smiling slightly.

I turn toward my breakfast, but out of the corner of my eye I see Albus's expression change to something more serious and thoughtful.

"Albus?"

"Forgive me, my dear. I was just thinking… Last night you seemed shocked by it. Almost frightened. I do hope it was a good surprise."

I should really stop being so surprised at what this man notices. "Yes, Albus, it was. It was just…" I sigh. "An old friend of mine gave me a hat just like this one a long time ago. The resemblance startled me. I was reminded of her."

Albus nods, "Where is she now?"

I look at him, then quickly away again. "Gone. I haven't seen her since before..."

"I am sorry, Minerva. I didn't mean to remind you of anything painful."

I look at him. He looks genuinely sorry, and I take his hand for a moment, squeezing it reassuringly under the table.

"Not at all, Albus. I love the hat. Actually, I should be thanking you. You've given me new memories instead. You'll never know how grateful I am for that. Honestly."

I smile at him, waiting for him to smile back before we both return to our plates.

A/N: Thanks for reading! I hope you liked it, and again, I apologize for it taking so long.

Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed thus far, it really does mean a lot to me. I look forward to hearing from you again.

Please review!

Until next time...

~Neve